Experience at TRC: Tambopata Research Center, Peru
Monday, March 25, 2013 at 01:00PM This edition's Life as a Vet Student category: Each day the veterinary profession becomes less national and more global. The AVMA states, "In recent years the AVMA has turned to the global stage to advance its strategic goals, particularly in the areas of animal welfare and veterinary education, and has worked hard to ensure that the U.S. veterinary profession's voice is heard in international settings." Are you interested in global health? How have you contributed or plan to contribute in international veterinary medicine?
Entry, Life as a Vet Student
Lauren Thielen, Texas A&M University
TRC, Tambopata Research Center, is a macaw conservation research facility located in south-eastern Peru, deep within the beautiful Peruvian Amazon, along the Tambopata River. 
The lodge is about 100km from the closest city, Puerto Maldanado, an 8hr boat ride upriver from the town. The research is lead by Texas A&M’s Dr. Donald Brightsmith, supported by Texas A&M Veterinarians and many volunteers from throughout the world. The lodge serves as both a research facility as well as a site for ecotourists to become immersed in the Amazon.
Over Christmas I was given the unbelievable opportunity to volunteer at TRC as a veterinary student. TRC’s research is focused on the long term monitoring of macaw and parrot biology, research first began in 1999. The location of the TRC lodge is no coincidence, as it is located only a 2 minute boats ride to the clay lick. The clay lick is a huge part of the research, as it is a location where thousands of birds can be observed at once. The purpose of animals arriving at the clay lick is to ingest the sodium-rich clay not provided in their diet. Additionally, by studying the clay lick the social order and behavior of different parrot species can be observed.
Breeding season is during the rainy season, December to June, and that is when the veterinarian comes into play. Chick growth data is taken to better understand the reproductive success of both Scarlet and Red-and-green Macaws. The data sets are used to help understand the fluctuations in clay lick use related to nesting, food supply, and bird abundance. As a veterinary student I spent my days walking throughout the Amazon Rainforest to different macaw nest sites to check on the development of the chicks. Most nests are located 125 feet up in the trees, and are either natural or artificially made nests. 
Access to the nests is made possible by using climbing rope, climbing harnesses, and ascenders. Once at the nest most macaw parents would fly away and watch you at a close distance. However, since there is an extreme shortage of nest sites compared to pairs of macaws, nest overtaking by other macaws is a real threat to these birds. Some pairs refuse to leave their nests and therefore researchers need to restrain the birds or force them to fly off before removing their chicks. I had the opportunity to ‘fight off’ a pair of Scarlet Macaws who weren’t the most hospitable. Talk about an adrenaline rush! But don’t worry; no macaws are injured in this endeavor. Additionally, research indicates that the stress placed on the adults and chicks by climbing into their nests does not seem to negatively impact the survival of the chicks.
Once the nest is climbed, a bucket is used to transport the chicks from the nest to the ground for physical exam and data collection by veterinarians. Several points of data are collected including measurements of their tarsus, wing, and culmen (beak length). 
Chicks are given full physical exams, crop scores, and weights. External parasites such as bots and mites are recorded and then removed. Every 20 days, blood samples are taken on chicks to monitor for any changes in their chemistries and also establish normal chemistry and blood count values. Crop contents are sampled to determine the composition of the chick’s diet. No surprise, their diet consisted of seeds and a lot of clay!
Macaws will typically lay 3-4 eggs, but only rear 1-2 chicks. Interestingly, despite the abundance of food in the forest, Macaw parents will select which chicks will be fed and which will be ignored. Chicks in the same nest are sometimes drastically different in size, and data on their stunted growth is collected. Unfortunately, those chicks that are not being fed will eventually starve to death. As much as the veterinarians want to save the starving chicks, one must look at the research from a biologist standpoint; let nature take its course. Dead chicks are removed from the nest and taken back to the lodge for a full necropsy and tissue sampling. Tissues are placed in formalin for histopathology and some tissues frozen for viral PCR testing.
Through the help of many researchers, volunteers, and veterinarians, the Tampobata Research Center continues to conduct valuable research, produce publications, and promote conservation of the large macaws of the Peruvian Amazon. 
Everyone participating in the project has a remarkable passion for preserving the ecology of the jungle, and after spending just a few days in the forest you will understand why. My time spent at TRC created an unforgettable experience that will forever impact my career as an avian veterinarian. For more information about TRC, I encourage you to visit www.macawproject.org.
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Reader Comments (5)
Chris- I do not believe the gender of the chicks played a role in determining their fate. I would have to see if they have previously performed DNA sexing though, as that was not a part of the sampling I was taking a part of.
I do know that the order the chicks are born plays a huge role in who is chosen to survive. The first born has the best chance of survival as they have been getting fed before their other siblings are hatched, making it typically the largest chick. Chicks 2, 3, and 4 can be somewhat variable though, as I have seen chick 3 die before chick 4 for example.
Based on necropsy results, the chicks that die do not have any underlying disease. We are pending PCR results for viral and bacterial testing on frozen tissue samples.
Hope that helped! Thanks for reading my article!